governments

It's a strategy some countries have adopted to boost falling fertility rates. Here's why it often fails.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

The private sector created 154,000 jobs. There was growth in health, retail and manufacturing. But governments cut 37,000 jobs, and a lot of those were the result of the government shutdown in Minnesota.

Steve Inskeep gets the latest from NPR's Tamara Keith.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

In Asia, military tension on the Korean peninsula is adding to investor worries. And in Europe, there's concern that several governments won't be able to pay back their debts.

How did U.S. markets do Tuesday?

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

There is much concern in Europe over the role of the major credit-rating agencies in the current European debt crisis.

Standard and Poors downgraded Spain and Portugal's ratings last week, and called Greek debt "junk." European leaders believe the U.S. credit rating agencies have too much power.

They have suggested creating a new European or international agency to rate governments.

Gold prices have soared this year — largely because the U.S. dollar has gotten weaker. Investors have been looking at gold as a better bet than the dollar.

And the expectation is that the dollar will stay weak because of low U.S. interest rates. That means investors — including governments — will likely continue pouring their money into the gold market.